Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics Fall 2014 Newsletter

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JACOB BURNS COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINICSPerspectives

FALL 2014 ISSUE

PERSPECTIVES 1

VIEWPOINT 1

IN MEMORIAM 2

NEWS 3

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS 5

CLINIC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT 6

KUDOS 7

INSIGHT: CLINIC PROFILES 8

On January 23, 2014, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor visited the Jacob

Burns Community Legal Clinics, cutting the ribbon that officially dedicated the clinics’ new home. The ribbon-cutting ceremony—attended by administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni—featured remarks by Justice Sotomayor, as well as by GW President Steven Knapp, Interim Dean Gregory Maggs, and Phyllis Goldfarb, Jacob Burns Foundation Professor of Clinical Law and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs.

President Knapp introduced Justice Sotomayor, who emphasized the role of clinics in promoting the highest values of the legal profession. “To me, the students in this room, the faculty members and the administration who have supported the

Justice Sonia Sotomayor Dedicates New Clinic Building

building of this center put on display the importance of law in service. It’s a great, great testament to the heart of GW,” Justice Sotomayor said. “Now you have a home befitting of your efforts.”

The clinics’ newly renovated building at the corner of 20th and G Streets, NW, received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold rating. The clinic facilities house a moot court room, faculty offices, four private client interview rooms, and five class-rooms with state-of-the-art technical equipment, totaling 4,000 square feet of common space. Interim Dean Maggs commented that he was delighted to present the renovated building to clinic faculty, students, and clients.

Dean Goldfarb gave a brief history of the GW clinics, explaining that clinical

Notes from the Clinical DeanBy Phyllis Goldfarb

For those of us privileged to work at the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, 2014 began on an auspi-

cious note. In January, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor honored the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics by cutting the ribbon on our newly reno-vated building. When Justice Sotomayor helped us dedicate our new quarters, offering moving words about the value

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T H E GEORGE WA SHI NGTON U N I V ER SIT Y L AW SCHOOL

PERSPECTIVES

VIEWPOINT

Associate Dean Goldfarb, Justice Sotomayor, President Knapp, and Interim Dean Maggs

2 THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL

fitting that GW Law, Bill’s alma mater, was one of clinical education’s early adopters. As we enhance and expand clinical legal education here and else-where, we carry on Bill Pincus’ legacy and are guided by his vision. We strive to be worthy descendants of his pioneering cause.” n

context, he forged the idea of law school clinics, which would give academic credit to students, supervised by law school faculty, for lawyer–client experiences that would promote access to justice and teach professional responsibility.

After using Ford Foundation money from 1959–68 to create and expand both legal services for the poor and clinical education for law students, Bill Pincus became President of the Ford-funded Council on Legal Education and Professional Responsibility (CLEPR). Continuing his efforts, he used CLEPR’s funds, influence, and training resources to promote to lawyers and law professors the idea of law school clinics, laying the groundwork for modern clinical legal education. When CLEPR ended in 1980, most U.S. law schools, and many law schools internationally, had some form of clinical education—a dramatic transfor-mation of legal education in a short period of time.

Phyllis Goldfarb, Jacob Burns Foundation Professor of Law and the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, praised Pincus’ creativity, initiative, and perseverance. “Bill Pincus provided the spark that brought clinical legal educa-tion to every law school in the country and to many countries in the world. It is

In Memoriam

William “Bill” Pincus, JD ’53

On May 15, 2014, GW law school, and all of legal education, lost a giant. Although he was not a law

professor himself, William “Bill” Pincus, JD ’53, who died at the age of 94, was the visionary who conceived of clinical legal education while he was a Ford Foundation executive and devoted energy and funding to creating it. Without Bill Pincus’ dedi-cation, clinical legal education in general, and GW’s Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics—which have been teaching students who serve clients for more than 40 years—would not exist.

Following several years in government service, Mr. Pincus entered the part-time evening program at GW Law. After grad-uating in 1953 and becoming a member of the Maryland and D.C. Bars, he served as counsel to a congressional committee, then joined the Ford Foundation, where he dispensed grant funding to programs that provided access to justice. In this

Bill (front row right) with wife Elsa at an International Bar Association meeting in Tokyo, August 1970.

Bill Pincus in his office at CLEPR, December 1971.

Receiving one of many awards for his work.

JACOB BURNS COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINICS 3

expectations. For her, the experience has been completely different from super-vising law clerks in the past. She stated that this is the first time that she feels a distinct responsibility for ensuring that students are attaining specific learning goals. She has enjoyed helping enthu-siastic and dedicated students develop as public interest lawyers and feels fulfilled when she sees “the light go on with students,” witnessing their sense of accomplishment in achieving a just result for a client or their growing awareness of the benefit of thorough legal research on their client’s position. Ms. Scott credits Professor Gutman’s teaching style as an effective model, both for her and for the PJAC students.

Paula Scott began her legal career as a trial attorney with the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board. She has served on many committees, task forces, and working groups of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the D.C. Consortium of Legal Services Providers, and the D.C. Bar, and has received many awards in recognition of her work, including the first Jerrold Scoutt Prize, two Stuart Stiller Awards, and the Washington Council of Lawyers President’s Award. She is also a former member of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission, and she currently serves on the board of direc-tors of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program. n

As in many civil legal services offices, students in PJAC get a wide range of prac-tice opportunities before different types of tribunals, including administrative, local, and federal courts. Students expe-rience law practice at both the trial level and the appellate level, each requiring its own skills and practice tools. The breadth and variety of cases the clinic under-takes—from unemployment compensa-tion appeals to wage theft cases to FOIA litigation—blends well with Ms. Scott’s decades of experience as a civil legal services lawyer and managing attorney with the Neighborhood Legal Services Program of the District of Columbia and as the Chief of the Civil Legal Services Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

Students who participated in the clinic benefitted greatly from Ms. Scott’s in-depth knowledge of civil legal practice in the District and her awareness of the impact of court decisions on the city’s low-income residents. She has helped clinic students identify and understand client goals and develop case theories. Ms. Scott has reviewed and commented on discovery requests, guided students in preparing arguments and witness examinations for court appearances, and generally assisted them in developing the skills and thought processes that will enable them to succeed as lawyers.

Paula Scott indicates that clinical teaching has more than surpassed her

News

Leader in Public Interest Law Brings Wealth of Experience to Clinics

During 2013–14, Paula D. Scott, a long-time public interest lawyer in D.C., has been working with

Professor Jeffrey Gutman, Director of the Public Justice Advocacy Clinic (PJAC), helping to supervise PJAC students repre-senting clients in a variety of civil cases. Professor Gutman persuaded Ms. Scott to leave full-time retirement to join the clinic as an adjunct faculty member.

Paula Scott

while we serve the needs of the commu-nity today. Some evidence that the clinics do indeed realize these intentions can be found in the words of Chris Bruno, JD ’09, featured in our clinic alumni profile (see story on page 5).

Hopefully, all the stories in this newsletter will give you a deeper sense of the many ways that we have reached for our lofty goals over the past academic year. We are happy to share these stories with you and we appreciate your continuing support for clinical legal education at GW. n

from GW Law before clinical legal education existed. But that didn’t stop him from dreaming of it and bringing his dream to life. All of us feel a deep debt of gratitude for the life and work of Bill Pincus, whose grand and audacious vision has forever changed legal education.

Justice Sotomayor’s visit and Bill Pincus’ loss inspire us to carry on the profoundly important work of teaching students—such as those you can read about in these pages—ethical judgment, professional skills, public service, and how to keep learning and growing as lawyers. In the process, we help to improve the legal profession of the future

of clinical education, we in the clinics re-dedicated ourselves to our important mission—teaching students law-in-con-text and cultivating the arts of lawyering through the important work of serving clients’ legal needs.

Not long after Justice Sotomayor graced us with her presence at the clinics, we lost a beloved luminary. In May 2014, we learned of the passing of William Pincus, the founder of clinical legal education, the man who created the idea of law school clinics and used his position at the Ford Foundation to fund them (see story on page 2). Bill Pincus graduated

Clinical Dean from page 1


and taught college courses in Criminal Justice. At GW Law, Ms. Donohue Prono is assisting Professor Laurie Kohn in the Family Justice Litigation Clinic.

Alice S. Hamilton Evert is assisting Professor Susan Jones in the Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic. Before her fellowship, Ms. Hamilton Evert was an associate in the Affordable Housing and Community Development prac-tice group in the D.C. office of Pepper Hamilton LLP, where she specialized in lender representation in Federal Housing Authority lending transactions. Previously, Ms. Hamilton Evert had worked as an associate at Linowes and Blocher LLP in Bethesda, Maryland, focusing on commercial litigation and bankruptcy matters. She holds a BA from the University of Texas and a JD from American University Washington College of Law. As a law student, she participated in the Community and Economic Development Law Clinic and was a Myers Society Distinguished Fellow in the Office of Legal Rhetoric. She is a member of the Young Lawyers Committee of the ABA Forum on

New Class of Friedman Fellows Arrives

Four Friedman Fellows have joined the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics for 2013–15. The fellowship

program, endowed through a generous gift by Philip Friedman, Esq., brings talented young lawyers to GW to pursue an LLM degree while they assist in teaching and supervising clinic students. Among other benefits, the experience that the fellows bring enables the clinics to enroll more students, undertake more cases and projects, and publish more scholarship. The Fellows’ presence enhances the quality of GW Law’s clin-ical program.

Below are some of the career high-lights of our 2013–15 Friedman Fellows:

Claire Donohue Prono earned an undergraduate degree from Cornell University, followed by a master’s in social work and a JD from Boston College. During law school, she received a Public Service Scholarship and served as Symposium Editor for the Boston College Third World Law Journal. Following grad-uation, Ms. Donohue Prono clerked for the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and then became a staff attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the public defender for Massachusetts. At CPCS, she represented indigent clients in all phases of criminal litigation. Upon relocating to the D.C. area, she accepted appointments on post-conviction appeals

Claire Donohue Prono Mira EdmondsAlice S. Hamilton Evert Joe Thorp

NEWS

Affordable Housing and Community Development.

Mira Edmonds has a BA from Brown University and a JD from Harvard Law School, where she was the recipient of the Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award and multiple fellowships. Following graduation, Ms. Edmonds worked for the Legal Aid Society of New York where she was a staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Division, managing up to 150 cases at a time. Thereafter, as a Hiles Fellow at the Alliance for Justice, she undertook legislative and grassroots efforts to raise awareness of the importance of federal courts. She also served as a clerk for the Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the Honorable Ellen Segal Huvelle, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. At the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, she assists Professor Jessica Steinberg in the Neighborhood Law and Policy Clinic.

Joe Thorp brings years of experi-ence as a public defender to his fellow-ship in the Federal, Criminal, and

continued on page 14

Associate Dean Goldfarb introduces Friedman Fellows to Justice Sotomayor.


Law Students Association at Fordham University Law School in New York City.

In May 2014, Professor Joan Meier was an invited panelist at the APA–ABA Conference on Confronting Community and Family Violence, speaking on “An Evidence-Based Approach to Cross-Allegations of Alienation and Abuse.” At the Law and Society Conference in Minneapolis in May, she participated in a roundtable about domestic violence clinics, speaking about her holistic teaching methods. She also spoke at the Themis Justice Recognition Reception held on Capitol Hill to honor public officials who have shown outstanding leadership on child safety.

“Demography and Democracy,” an essay by Associate Dean Phyllis Goldfarb, is slated for publication in the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy (2014).

In March 2014, Dean Goldfarb presented her paper “Demography and Democracy” at a symposium entitled “The End of Voting Rights?” at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg School of Law. In April 2014, she presented “Race, Exceptionalism, and the American Death Penalty” at New England Law School on a panel featuring Professors Carol Steiker (Harvard), Michael Meltsner (Northeastern), Evan Mandery ( John Jay), and U.S. District Court Judge Michael Ponsor.

“A Sustainable Approach to Riverfront Development: Lessons for D.C.’s Anacostia River,” an article by Alice Hamilton Evert, Friedman Fellow in the Small Business and Community Economic Development (SBCED) Clinic, has been accepted for publication in the ABA Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law. In April 2014, Hamilton Evert spoke about the SBCED Clinic’s collaboration in a brief advice “pop-up” clinic on a panel entitled “Community Outreach as a Teaching Tool” at the Transactional Clinical Conference held at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. n

careers and professional transitions. In May 2014, at the Law & Society Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, she served as moderator and commentator at a roundtable on new books in family law. In January 2014, Professor Kohn conducted a domestic violence training for incoming and returning judges of the D.C. Superior Court.

Professor Jessica Steinberg’s article “Demand Side Reform in the Poor People’s Court” will be published in Volume 47, Issue 3 of the Connecticut Law Review.

During the 2013–14 academic year, Professor Steinberg presented “Demand Side Reform in the Poor People’s Court” as a work-in-progress in the GW Law faculty colloquium series, and at the NYU Clinical Writers’ Workshop, sponsored by the Clinical Law Review; the Mid-Atlantic Clinical Theory Workshop; the D.C. Pre-Tenure Clinical Workshop; and the Poverty Law Conference, held at American University Washington College of Law in October 2013.

In April 2014, Professor Steinberg gave a presentation entitled “Non- Adversarialism and Access to Justice: A Case Study of an Experimental Court,” at the Access to Justice Empirical Methods Workshop, hosted by the Institute for Legal Studies at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Wisconsin. In May 2014, she spoke on a panel “Empirically Studying Access to Justice,” at the Law & Society Annual Meeting in Minneapolis.

Professor Arturo Carrillo’s 2011 article “Re-imagining the Human Rights Law Clinic” (co-authored with Nicolás Espejo Yaksic) was translated into Spanish and published as “Re-imaginando la clínica jurídica de derechos humanos,” 22 Revista Academia de la Universidad de Buenos Aires (2014).

In October 2013, Professor Carrillo spoke on “Forging a Convention for Crimes Against Humanity,” to the American branch of the International Law Association and the International

Professor Susan Jones published “Clinical Collaborations: Going Global to Advance Social Entrepreneurship” with Deborah Burand (Michigan); Jonathan Ng (General Counsel and Global Legal Director, Ashoka) and Alicia Plerhoples (Georgetown), 20 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education (2014).

In October 2013, Professor Jones gave a keynote address entitled “The Role of Lawyers in Building Healthy Communities” at the Joint Meeting Council of the ABA Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities and the Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, held in Washington, D.C. She also presented “Social Enterprises: Formation & Financing” at the regional conference of the ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law in Asheville, North Carolina. In November, she spoke about entrepreneurship and re-entry to the D.C. and Workforce Development Program of the U.S. Probation Office. In January 2014, she presented “Value Creation by Business Lawyers in the 21st Century” to the Transactional Law and Skills Section at the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in New York City.

In December 2013, Professor Jones spoke in Sonipat, India, to the Global Alliance for Justice Education on “Social Justice Through Social Entrepreneurship” and “Including Economic Justice in a Social Justice Teaching Agenda: The Role of Clinics Representing Nonprofits, Small Businesses, and Social Enterprises.” In March 2014, she presented “Legal Clinics, Entrepreneurship & Commerce” to govern-ment officials and faculty members of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Professor Laurie Kohn published “Engaging Men as Fathers: The Courts, the Law, and Father-Absence in Low-Income Families,” 35 Cardozo Law Review 511 (2013).

In April 2014, Professor Kohn spoke on a panel at the AALS Conference on Clinical Legal Education about academic

Selected Presentations and Publications


Clinic Alumni Spotlight

Christopher M. Bruno, JD ’09

Chris Bruno is a fifth-year asso-ciate with Winston & Strawn LLP, where his practice focuses

on appeals and motions practice, patent litigation, and healthcare matters. He has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court and various federal courts of appeals in cases involving employment law, patents, defamation, and criminal defense. Mr. Bruno has also served on trial-level litigation teams for numerous life sciences and biotechnology clients and has counseled clients in health-care investigations and transactions. Additionally, his pro bono clients have included criminal defendants, a victim of alleged loan-modification fraud, and a teenager who was forced to reveal her sexual orientation to her school coaches. Recently, SuperLawyers® recognized Mr. Bruno as a 2014 Washington, D.C., “Rising Star.”

GW Law: How did you end up in your

current job?

A: I knew I wanted to stay in Washington, D.C., where I had lived for five years already (I am a double Colonial). My interest in practicing

Professor Olesen’s close supervision, we drafted (and re-drafted) the briefs and then ultimately argued the case before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. It was really the first time my legal skills were put to the test, with real conse-quences. The experience also reinforced my passion for appellate practice.

GW Law: How have the skills you learned

in the clinic helped in your career? How

does that differ from what you learned

in your doctrinal courses?

A: It probably goes without saying that the clinic was a real jumping-off point for my written and oral advocacy skills. But more importantly, it taught me about professional judgment and client service. Writing an appellate brief requires not just determining which issues to raise, but also which issues not to raise. That strategic decision-making process takes confidence and relies on putting yourself in the shoes of your audience—here, the appellate panel. At the beginning, you want to raise every conceivable issue for fear of leaving out the one that could have changed the court’s decision. FAC gave me a greater appreciation for how best to pair your client’s goals with your audience.

No less important, my clinical expe-rience also taught me the client-centered focus of superior lawyering. In FAC, almost nothing is more important to your clients than winning their cases. But a close second is feeling that they are being well represented and that someone is on their side. Both of these attitudes hold true for “Big Law” clients, and in civil as well as criminal cases. There are many great lawyers; the ones who truly flourish are respected not only for their legal prowess, but also for their ability to serve their clients most effectively.

GW Law: What advice would you give

a current student deciding whether to

enroll in a clinic?

A: Clinical experience, no matter what type, provides a professional edge because it endows you with a well-rounded view

appellate law, moreover, caused me to seek out law firms that had strong and emerging appellate practices. I was fortunate enough to end up at Winston through GW’s on-campus recruiting process.

Between graduating law school and practicing at Winston & Strawn, I gained great practical experience helping Professor Anne Olesen in the Federal, Criminal, and Appellate Clinic for the 2009–2010 school year. Thereafter, I served as a Specially Assigned Assistant Attorney General for the District of Columbia. These experiences built on the foundation that my clinical experience had set.

GW Law: What is a typical day for you?

A: My practice is varied and fast-paced, so it is hard to characterize a typical day. I can be drafting an appellate brief or a major motion, sorting out a discovery dispute, calling healthcare regulators, advising clients directly, or researching patent law. It is an incredibly energizing environment to work in, and I’m fortu-nate to have the support of truly talented colleagues.

One thing that remains consistent is the intellectual stimulation. As an example, my current caseload includes a pro bono Seventh Circuit representa-tion of a well-known author convicted of criminal contempt of court; a Ninth Circuit representation of a notable prize-awarding institution in its first U.S. lawsuit; a class action suit brought against a large hospital system by nurses alleging wage and hour violations; and a number of patent cases involving attempts by pharmaceutical companies to introduce generic competitors to branded products.

GW Law: You participated in the Federal,

Criminal, and Appellate Clinic (FAC) in

your third year. What was that like?

A: FAC was far and away the most valuable and rewarding experience I had in law school. It was also the most intimidating. During the clinic, I served as lead counsel and co-counsel for clients convicted of serious felony charges. Under

Chris Bruno



KUDOS

In February 2014, Dean Goldfarb and Professors Olesen, Jones, Kohn, and Gutman presented a lawyering simu-lation for a program on experiential learning to all of the GW Law Inns of Court for first-year students. Friedman Fellows Alice Hamilton Evert, Claire Donohue Prono, and Joseph Thorp also participated in the program.

In March 2014, the clinics hosted a presentation by Tamara Devieux-Adams and Jaya Saxena, of the law school’s Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy on “Marketing Your Clinical Education in Your Job Search.” The program was coordinated by the clinics’ Managing Attorney, Pallavi Rai Gullo, and Student Director, Sonia Desai, JD ’14. The goal was to assist clinic students in conveying effectively to potential employers the skills that they have acquired during their clinical experiences.

In 2013–2014, Sonia Desai, assisted by the clinics’ Student Advisory Council, organized charity drives in the fall and spring semesters. In the fall, clinic students and faculty collected more than 180 books for the combined fourth and fifth grades at Yu Ying Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., which serves many low-income children. In the spring, the clinics donated 760 toiletry items to Miriam’s Kitchen, which helps chronically homeless individuals find and maintain permanent housing. n

In 2014, Professor Susan Jones partic-ipated in the Leadership Coaching Certificate Program in the Program for Transformational Leadership at the Georgetown School of Professional Education.

In 2013–14, Professor Jones served on the search committee for the Dean of the law school.

Associate Dean Phyllis Goldfarb was appointed to a three-year term (2014–17) on the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Committee on Clinical Education by Daniel Rodriguez, Dean of Northwestern University Law School and President of the AALS. The committee advises the AALS Executive Committee on issues related to clinical legal education.

In Fall 2013, Dean Goldfarb partici-pated in a six-week faculty development seminar sponsored by GW’s Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. She serves on the Advisory Committee to the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.

In June 2014, Dean Goldfarb partic-ipated in a two-day GW Leadership Retreat, addressing alumni about the role of philanthropy in the clinical program. In September 2013, she participated in a roundtable, convened by Chief Justice Eric T. Washington of the D.C. Court of Appeals, on access to justice gaps in the District.

In April 2014, Dean Goldfarb and Friedman Fellow Claire Donohue Prono met with government officials and law professors who are establishing a new law school in Singapore that hopes to incorporate experiential learning.

In 2013–14, Professor Anne Olesen served as a faculty advisor to the O’Connor Inn of Court at GW Law. Dean Goldfarb served as a faculty advisor to the Cardozo Inn of Court.

In 2013–14, Professor Jeffrey Gutman served as a mediator in the Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division of the Civil Division of the D.C. Superior Court.

Professor Gutman represents three men exonerated by DNA evidence after criminal convictions in their civil lawsuits against the District of Columbia.

In June 2014, Professor Joan Meier was co-author of an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a petition for certiorari in Ohio v. Clark, a confron-tation clause case involving children’s statements. She also was co-author of an amicus brief in a Maryland case on behalf of a mother who was ordered to pay damages to her batterer as a result of his tort action against her.

In November 2013, Professor Meier hosted a 10th Anniversary celebration for DV LEAP, the nonprofit organization that she founded.

Professor Laurie Kohn was appointed by Mayor Vincent Gray and confirmed by the D.C. Council to serve on the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board. This board reviews and analyzes all domestic violence fatalities in D.C. in an effort to identify gaps in services and enhance victim safety.

Professor Peter Meyers has been studying the craft of writing fiction and is writing a novel about a student’s experi-ences in a law school clinic.

In November 2013, Professor Arturo Carrillo traveled to Pretoria, South Africa, as an invited expert at the “Workshop on Human Rights Law Clinics in Comparative Perspective: United States, Latin America, and Africa,” a module in the 2013 “Training Programme on Establishing, Running, and Growing a Public Interest/Human Rights Law Clinic.” Associate Dean Phyllis Goldfarb and Clinics’ Student

Director Sonia Desai.


interviewing witnesses for misdemeanor and felony trials, analyzing evidence, and researching and writing motions. Mr. Loigman reported that engaging in pros-ecution work through DVP helped him to understand victims’ possible ambiva-lence toward prosecution, and brought his Evidence and Criminal Procedure classes to life. Geoff Crary, JD ’14, spent his spring DVP semester in court, prosecuting domestic violence cases for the Domestic Violence Unit of the Montgomery County State’s Attorney.

Ali Walker, JD ’15, worked at Break the Cycle, a legal services organization focused on dating violence, helping survi-vors of domestic violence to obtain civil protection orders. Ms. Walker reported that her DVP placement taught her how civil actions can help survivors gain some control over their lives. “It is so rewarding to help Break the Cycle provide an avenue for young people to take back autonomy and control,” she commented. Julie Glaubach, JD ’14, also focused on civil protection order cases with the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.

According to Roberta O. Roberts, JD ’15, “Participating in the Domestic Violence Project instilled in me the importance of not forgetting your humanity while working with clients [and] the desire to not only strive to attain the best possible legal outcome for my clients but to help them attain—as best as I can—personal empowerment as well. This is not really mentioned in any of the traditional law school courses, so I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn about the practical application of law and client counseling in a clinical setting.” n

domestic violence services. In the spring semester, DVP students worked under the guidance of Professorial Lecturer in Law Robin Runge.

In the fall semester, Isabelle P. Cutting, JD ’15, worked on three asylum applications at the Tahirih Justice Center. Ms. Cutting prepared docu-ments, responded to evidentiary requests, drafted closing letters, and engaged in extensive client contact, using her French language skills as an interviewer and interpreter. In the spring semester, Jessica Buchanan, JD ’15, worked with the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center to help obtain legal status for undocu-mented victims of domestic violence. Coty Sibbach, JD ’14, worked with the Network for Victim Recovery of D.C., where he conducted research on the legal treatment of sex trafficking victims and social media safety planning for victims of domestic violence.

Caleb Rosenberg, JD ’14, and Vijay Rao, JD ’15, assisted on appeals in domestic violence-related cases to the U.S. Supreme Court and other appellate courts for the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP). Recently, the D.C. Court of Appeals (DCCA) adopted DV LEAP’s position, favorably construing a new D.C. statute involving unemployment compensation and domestic violence. Mr. Rosenberg remarked, “It was especially gratifying to be able to see my work and research applied in an oral argument at the DCCA for the benefit of victims of domestic violence while helping to address a novel issue before the court.”

In the fall semester, Joshua Loigman, JD ’15, worked with the Sex Offenses and Domestic Violence Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to prosecute domestic violence cases, gaining firsthand experience in determining charges,

Domestic Violence Project and Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP)

Students in the Domestic Violence Project (DVP), directed by Professor Joan Meier, applied what they

learned during weekly clinical seminars to their work with a range of domestic violence legal organizations in the D.C. area. In the 2013–14 academic year, students engaged in a variety of legal matters including teen dating violence, immigration relief for abused women, governmental policy on violence against women, and prosecution of domestic violence cases. For example, one DVP student worked in the Family Violence Prevention Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on agency rules that instruct states and coalitions on how to administer federal grants for

Professor Joan Meier

Insight: Clinic Profiles


INSIGHT: CLINIC PROFILES

civil protection order on behalf of their client in a case involving threats by her children’s father. Hannah Scheckelhoff, JD ’14, and Sharon Fieldman, JD ’14, successfully secured an extension of a civil protection order for an elderly client and continued to assist her in initiating a legal separation from her abusive husband. The legal separation case went to trial at the end of the semester, and the result is currently pending.

Reflecting on the case, Ms. Scheckelhoff observed: “[I]t is unfath-omable to me that students can leave law school without having this type of expe-rience….I have learned so much about the practice of law and just as much about my place in the legal field….I know that I am well prepared to take on the challenges that lie ahead because of the tools and knowledge that my clinic work has given me.” n

Family Justice Litigation Clinic

Under the direction of Professor Laurie Kohn and Friedman Fellow Claire Donohue Prono, students

in the Family Justice Litigation Clinic (FJLC) represented clients in domestic relations and domestic violence cases in the D.C. Superior Court. In addition to handling cases, students mediated family law cases for pro se litigants in the D.C. Superior Court’s Family Court.

In 2013–14, FJLC students repre-sented a number of clients in family law cases. For example, Gabriel Bush, JD ’14, and Laura D’Elia, JD ’14, represented a grandmother seeking sole legal and physical custody of her two grandchil-dren, who had been living with her since their mother had passed away. The student–advocates won custody after a trial in which they presented several witnesses, including an expert. Maryam Belly, JD ’14, and Dan Tarvin, JD ’14, also worked to secure a grandmother’s custody of her four grandchildren, a case that involved negotiations with multiple parties.

After completing discovery and pre-trial litigation, Melissa Milchman, JD ’14, and Jessica Bronson, JD ’14, successfully negotiated a settlement with two defendants, resulting in the award to their client of sole physical custody of the grandson she had cared for since birth, and an agreement between the parties to share joint legal custody of the child. In addition, Lisa Lindhorst, JD ’15, and Kate D’Ambrosio, JD ’14, successfully represented a client in a legal separation case in which the client received child support and sole custody of her daughter. These students also represented a client in a divorce between out-of-state same sex spouses, using a recent amendment to D.C. law that allows out-of-state parties in certain kinds of cases to obtain divorces in the District.

In addition, FJLC students repre-sented clients in domestic violence cases. For example, Hari Narayan Khalsa, JD ’14, and Rachel Dane, JD ’14, won a

Clinic students Suleyka Canelo, Jenna Mennona, Brittany Brown, and Hersh Friedman outside the courthouse.

Professor Laurie Kohn and Friedman Fellow Claire Donohue Prono.

Clinic students Gabriel Bush and Laura D’Elia at the D.C. Superior Court.

1 0 THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL

selectively denied making several of the most damaging posts. The trial court had excluded this testimony on the grounds that the social media evidence was not adequately authenticated. Matt Joseph and Kirsten Thomas, JD ’14, argued that the trial court applied an incorrect authentication standard. The question should have been whether any reasonable juror could have found the Facebook evidence to be authored by the witness in question. In this case, the witness admissions combined with the distinctive characteristics of the posts easily met this threshold. When the court denied relief on these grounds, Mr. Joseph wrote a petition for writ of certiorari to Maryland’s highest court. The Maryland Court of Appeals has granted the petition and will hear the case next term. n

at a time other than the burglary. The court agreed that the State had failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, as it failed to prove circumstances (e.g., when and where the game was obtained, age of print, etc.) suggesting that the print was made during the burglary. This case represented the first time that the Maryland court expressed explicit skepticism about fingerprint evidence on movable objects.

Another clinic case raised the cutting edge issue of the admissibility of social media evidence. In an assault case where the defendant had claimed self-defense, the trial court refused to admit evidence of a Facebook conversation that would have seriously impeached the State’s key witness. The witness had admitted that she participated in a Facebook conver-sation on the day after the incident and that the posts in question were made under her Facebook profile, but she


Professor Anne Olesen

Federal, Criminal, and Appellate Clinic

Students in the Federal, Criminal, and Appellate Clinic (FAC) spent the fall semester researching 10

assigned cases, drafting arguments, and meeting with their respective clients in criminal appeals matters before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. By the end of the spring semester, FAC students had filed appellant briefs and presented oral arguments before the court. For example, Patrick Thompson, JD ’14, and James Waller, JD ’14, argued that a trial court had admitted taped interviews containing inadmissible hearsay and improper police opinions in an attempted murder case. Desiree Woods, JD ’14, and Katie Bendoraitis, JD ’14, argued a speedy trial case in which the State took more than two years to bring a defendant to trial.

Daniel Johnston, JD ’14, argued to the appellate court that a trial judge erred by refusing to give a requested jury instruc-tion on suggestive police identifications based on a policy of never deviating from pattern jury instructions. Reflecting on his FAC experience, Mr. Johnston stated, “Arguing before the Court of Special Appeals in Maryland was an incredible experience. This was the first ‘real-world’ case I had ever argued, with a real client’s interests on the line. While it was nerve-wracking, the extensive preparation and feedback the clinic provided me allowed me to deliver what I believe to be a very strong argument.”

Whitney Fore, JD ’14, and Matt Joseph, JD ’14, won reversal based on insufficiency of the evidence in a case in which a juvenile had been convicted based solely on fingerprints on a video game case moved during a burglary. The students argued that the State had failed to eliminate the reasonable possibility that the defendant had touched the case

JACOB BURNS COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINICS 1 1


care and putting him at risk of insti-tutionalization. Now that coverage is reinstated, the client can continue to live at home with the help of an aide. In the spring semester, Ben Andres, JD ’14, assisted a client who was unable to afford his medications on his limited Social Security income. Mr. Andres helped him complete an application for the Qualified Medical Beneficiary Program, which will subsidize some healthcare costs so that the client can continue to pay his bills. n

spent the fall semester resolving hospital bills for a woman who had been hit by a car. The hospital had not admitted her as a patient, even though her doctor appealed to the hospital administration to classify her as such. As a result, the hospital would not bill Medicare and was trying to make the woman pay all costs.

Richard Hughes, JD ’15, worked successfully to reinstate a client’s Medicaid coverage. Mr. Hughes argued that the coverage was wrongfully terminated, disrupting the client’s home

Professor Suzanne Jackson

Health Rights Law Clinic

The Health Rights Law Clinic, supervised by Professor Suzanne Jackson, helps Washington, D.C.,

residents, many of them seniors, with legal issues regarding their health care and health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. Students may appeal a denial of payments for health care, nego-tiate with collection agencies regarding payment of medical bills, help seniors enroll in more suitable and affordable medical and prescription plans, and ensure that they receive all of the benefits for which they are eligible. Students sometimes visit clients in their homes, making help easily accessible to the senior population and to people with disabil-ities. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, clinic students spent a considerable amount of time learning about the Act’s effects on the health care system as a whole and on Medicare and Medicaid in particular.

In November 2013, Professor Jackson and clinic students headed to Delta Towers, a senior apartment residence, to help residents with their health care planning. They assisted seniors to enroll in public benefit plans that could help reduce their medical costs and answered questions regarding their insurance plans and options. Michael Sherling, JD ’14,

The Eric Scott Sirulnik FundOne way to support the clinics is to make a donation to the Eric Scott

Sirulnik Legal Clinic Fund. Established in 2003 by David Webster,

LLB ’64, to honor Professor Sirulnik’s work in establishing the Jacob

Burns Community Legal Clinics, this endowed fund is open to receive

donations from GW alumni and other friends of the clinics. Your support

will enhance the ability of the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics to

educate clinic students as they provide legal services to people who

need them.

If you are interested in making a contribution or learning more about

the Eric Scott Sirulnik Community Legal Clinic Fund, please contact Rich

Collins, Law School Office of Alumni and Development, at 202-994-6117

or [email protected].

Eric Sirulnik, Norma Lamont, Director of Clinic Support Services, and clinic alumni Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, JD ‘83, and Robert Tanenbaum, JD ‘82.


and Sydney Barron, JD ’14, each won asylum for clients who were victims of domestic abuse in their home countries. Ms. Barron’s case had been re-opened to enable advocacy on the basis of recent changes in the law.

Clinic students also participated in other kinds of professional advocacy on behalf of immigrants. In September, Kelly Rojas spoke to psychology resi-dents at GW Medical School about how psychological evaluations are used in immigration proceedings. In her talk, Ms. Rojas drew not only on her experi-ence in the Immigration Clinic, but also

Immigration Clinic

The Immigration Clinic, taught by Professor Alberto Benítez and attorney Jonathan Bialosky, had

a productive year. Student–attorneys in the clinic represented clients in both affirmative and defensive asylum cases and assisted clients with applications for various other types of immigration benefits. In November 2013, Jessica Leal, JD ’14, obtained asylum for her client from El Salvador, who fled her country after a gang leader kidnapped and sexu-ally assaulted her. In January 2014, the clinic won a grant of asylum for a client whose initial February 2010 grant of asylum was appealed by the Department of Homeland Security. The Board of Immigration Appeals remanded the case back to Immigration Court, and Victoria Braga, JD ’14, once again won asylum for the client, who had been persecuted in Cameroon due to his political opinion.

In February 2014, Chris Gloria, JD ’14, obtained an affirmative grant of asylum for a client who had suffered persecu-tion due to her political opinion. In the spring semester, Kelly Rojas, JD ’14,


on her prior experience as an immigration paralegal. In January, clinic students visited the Arlington Asylum Office to observe affirmative asylum inter-views, some of which were conducted by clinic alumna Emma Brown, JD ’13, a Presidential Management Fellow serving as an asylum officer. In March, the clinic hosted a naturalization ceremony at GW Law, where 25 young adults were sworn in as U.S. citizens. Interim Dean Gregory Maggs and Jessica Leal gave opening remarks at the ceremony, and Carly Sessions, JD ’14, delivered the ceremony’s keynote address. n

Professor Alberto Benítez (r) and Jonathan Bialosky (l) with 2013–14 Immigration Clinic students.

Clinic student Sydney Barron working on a case in the Clinics’ student work area.



Inter-American Commission in which they presented a report on human rights in Jamaica. Additionally, IALAP students worked on several LGBTI human rights cases in Honduras.

In April 2014, the Anti-Trafficking Project filed a federal lawsuit under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and related statutes on behalf of undocu-mented migrant workers coerced by repeated threats and acts of violence to work harvesting produce. Jessica Arco, JD ’14, Javeria Jamil, JD ’14, Casey Rubinoff, JD ’14, and Johanna Zacarias, JD ’15, traveled with supervising attorney Susan French to conduct interviews and gather facts on behalf of the workers and to help draft the complaint and legal memoranda. n

practitioners, and collected evidentiary items, such as court transcripts. During the semester, students incorporated this information into petitions for the clients seeking remedies from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Sarah Bessell, JD ’15, and Carrie James, JD ’15, spent their semester incor-porating international legal principles into a petition on behalf of the family of a victim of extrajudicial killing. Aliz Alanizi, JD ’14, and Evelina René, JD ’15, wrote a petition on behalf of the girls illegally held in state custody. The Inter-American Commission granted the clin-ic’s request for precautionary measures on behalf of these clients, and the clinic is monitoring the government’s compliance with these measures.

With Professor Carrillo, students helped to prepare members of Jamaican civil society for a hearing at the

International Human Rights Clinic

The International Human Rights Clinic, directed by Professor Arturo Carrillo, had three ongoing

projects during the past academic year: the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Human Rights Initiative, the Inter-American Litigation and Advocacy Project (IALAP), and the Anti-Trafficking Project. In addi-tion, during the spring semester, Aziz Al Alami, JD ’14, and Liz Confalone, JD ’14, assisted Professor Sean Murphy with research for the International Law Commission on the implementation of human rights treaties.

The Information and Communications Technology Human Rights Initiative is a new research-based project aimed at expanding the Global Internet Freedom and Human Rights Project at GW Law. Its goals include promoting greater protections for human rights in the ICT sector, particularly freedom of expression and privacy, through research, advocacy, and capacity building. Specifically, the project fosters a greater understanding of multi-stakeholder collaboration (across businesses, governments, human rights groups, NGOs, investors, and academic institutions) by supporting the mission of entities like the Global Network Initiative (GNI). With Professor Carrillo, students participated in GNI’s periodic learning calls and its annual Learning Forum, and kept abreast of the emerging issues and areas of debate about the role that human rights play online and in the digital context. Professor Carrillo has been elected an alternate academic member of GNI.

In the fall semester, students involved in IALAP traveled to Jamaica to work directly with their local partner orga-nization, Jamaicans for Justice, and their clients, minor girls detained in adult detention facilities and the families of victims of extrajudicial killings by Jamaican police. The students interviewed victims, their guard-ians, witnesses, and other local legal

Above: Professor Arturo Carrillo (c) and cooperating attorney Nikhil Narayan (l) with IHRC students.

Left: Alex Goffe (l) and David Silvera (r) of Jamaicans for Justice with IHRC student Sarah Bessell (c) during a hearing.


Appellate Clinic, directed by Professor Anne Olesen. Prior to the fellowship, Mr. Thorp worked as a staff attorney for Orleans Public Defenders in New Orleans, representing clients in serious felony matters through all phases of liti-gation from preliminary hearing through trial. He holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from GW and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center. As a law student, he participated in Georgetown’s Criminal Justice Clinic and received the International Academy for Trial Lawyers’ Award for excellence in clinical advocacy. n


DeJulio, JD ’14, Andrew Woodbury, JD ’14, and Anne Collesano, JD ’14, secured favorable resolutions for their clients in several civil cases. In one particularly noteworthy case, Ms. DeJulio helped restore her client’s apartment after an unlawful eviction and ensured that the landlord made essential repairs. Ms. Collesano initiated an action on behalf of a client who was victimized by an unscrupulous auto repair shop. In several landlord–tenant matters, Mr. Woodbury helped to prevent his clients’ evictions by negotiating favorable settlements. n

thorough legal research, and pursuing innovative motions, the Criminal Division students achieved a high rate of non-convictions on behalf of their clients.

Students participating in the Civil Division were incredibly successful in their representation of some of the District’s most vulnerable citizens who were facing eviction, deplorable living conditions, and other legal problems concerning housing and consumer issues. Based on their exhaustive investigations, legal research, negotiation efforts, and advocacy skills, student–attorneys Nicole

Law Students in Court

Students participating in D.C. Law Students in Court, directed by adjunct faculty member Moses

Cook, litigated dozens of civil and crim-inal cases during the 2013–14 academic year. Third-year students Amara Anosike, Devin Arp, Karri Becker, Andrew Clarke, Christina Donahue, Joshua Hall, Michelle Lim, Brody Miles, Shelagh O’Donnell, Zachary Rosen, Jessica Vining, Masako Yoshiko, and Pezhmon Zaiim served as student–attorneys in LSIC’s Criminal Division, obtaining positive outcomes for their clients in adult criminal cases and juvenile delinquency matters.

A number of students conducted trials in their cases. Michelle Lim won a motion for judgment of acquittal at the trial of her client when the judge adopted her legal argument that no reasonable jury could convict the client based upon the evidence presented. The cases of other clients represented by students were dismissed without adjudication by judges in the D.C. Superior Court. By carefully investigating charges, conducting

Law Students in Court supervisor Dan Clark speaking with a law student.

of how the law really operates. Law is far more than what you read in a casebook—it involves personalities, diplomacy, and, sometimes, business and personal interests that conflict with legal interests. Part of being a lawyer is traversing these minefields, and clinics give you an early glimpse of how that process works.

GW Law: What do you know now that

you wish you had known when you were

in law school?

A: I did not really understand the extent to which my career might take unexpected turns. A significant part of my current practice—indeed, some of my most enjoyable work—involves

pharmaceutical patents. Yet, I do not have a technical degree, never took an intellectual property class, and never developed an interest in patent law before joining the firm. It really is important to be open early on to practicing in areas that may fall outside your initial comfort zone.

GW Law: If you weren’t doing what you

do, what would you be doing?

A: I would be a restaurateur, hands down. I think that job actually applies many of the same skills I bring to my law practice—creativity, attention to detail, and passion. But it has the added benefit of incorpo-rating my favorite hobby—eating. n

Bruno from page 6Friedman Fellows from page 4


throughout the United States, analyzed their advantages and disadvantages, and drafted model language for ALICE, the American Legislative and Issue Campaign Exchange. Their work focused on automatic expungement for non-con-victions, which include arrests without charges, charges that are not prosecuted, and not-guilty verdicts. Automatic expungement has been discussed in the D.C. Council, most recently in 2010 when an NLP student testified to the Council.

In a second project, Jenna Brofsky and Nzingha Hooker surveyed social science literature on factors related to recidivism and prepared a formal report documenting and compiling the existing data. The students presented their research to a coalition of legal services providers who are drafting language for the D.C. code that would reduce discrimination against ex-offenders. The clinic also conducted policy research for the School Justice Project, a non-profit which represents court-involved youth in Washington, D.C. in special education cases. Clinic students collected national and local data on court-involved youth between the ages of 18 and 22 who have special education needs. n

Wong and Trisha Pande also won early termination of parole for a client who had made remarkable progress, overcoming addiction and contributing to his family’s stability as a primary caregiver for his young child.

When a homeless shelter sought to exclude a client due to a criminal conviction, Caroline Alpert and Darrell Pae researched law, investigated facts, and filed motions at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), which adjudicates shelter termination cases. Max Tipping represented an individual wrongfully terminated from a shelter due to a minor incident, appearing before OAH and negotiating a settlement with the shelter so that the client would no longer be barred. Mansoor and Tipping also represented a client seeking to seal arrests that he had only recently discov-ered on his record from when he was a teenager more than 45 years ago. In addi-tion, students provided telephone assis-tance to callers seeking to understand the complex D.C. laws on expungement of criminal convictions.

The clinic also undertook exciting policy projects. Jane Hong and Matt Casale researched expungement laws


Neighborhood Law and Policy Clinic

In 2013–14, the Neighborhood Law and Policy (NLP) Clinic, taught by Professor Jessica Steinberg and

Friedman Fellow Mira Edmonds, provided various forms of legal assistance to people seeking to reintegrate into the community after serving sentences for criminal convictions. Caroline Alpert, JD ’14, Jenna Brofsky, JD ’14, Jane Hong, JD ’14, Darrell Pae, JD ’14, Aamir Mansoor, JD ’14, Max Tipping, JD ’15, Christine Wong, JD ’14, and Trisha Pande, JD ’15, represented D.C. clients held in federal prison in Pennsylvania at parole eligibility hearings before the U.S. Parole Commission (USPC). Prior to the hearings, the students met with their clients, gathered information about their positive achievements during incarcer-ation, such as vocational training and assistance to others, and obtained letters of support from third parties, especially regarding employment opportunities upon release. Brofsky and Hong’s client was granted parole when the USPC adopted the legal and factual arguments for release contained in the students’ pre-hearing brief.

Joe Eggleston, JD ’14, Samantha Miller, JD ’14, Matt Casale, JD ’14, and Nzingha Hooker, JD ’14, represented clients seeking early termination of parole after substantially transforming their lives following decades-old criminal convictions. For example, after a criminal conviction 25 years ago, Eggleston and Miller’s client completed his GED and numerous training programs while in prison, and upon his release, revived his marriage, found employment, and now has a young son. The client was granted early termination of parole in February 2014. Matt Casale and Nzingha Hooker’s client had been on parole for seventeen years following a nonviolent conviction in the 1980s, and was overjoyed when he was granted early termination of parole and permitted to reunite in another state with his wife. In March 2014, Christine

Professor Jessica Steinberg talking with clinic student Matt Casale.


unlawful or, in the alternative, inappli-cable to their client.

In addition to wage and hour cases, PJAC students also represented clients appealing denials of unemployment bene-fits. For example, Abby Marciniak and Juan Garcia-Pardo won a hearing at the D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) on behalf of their client, a security guard. The guard was originally denied benefits due to misconduct, but when the students refuted the alleged miscon-duct, the administrative judge reversed, awarding unemployment benefits. Kevin Miller and Rebecca Wernicke success-fully represented a food service worker, persuading an administrative law judge to reverse the denial of benefits to a man wrongly accused of assaulting a co-worker. Hina Gupta and Geoffrey Hainbach repre-sented a retail clerk accused of miscon-duct and obtained a favorable decision partially restoring her benefits. Orly May and Joe Seaton participated in drafting an appellate brief in an unemployment compensation case, challenging the judge’s conduct during the hearing. James King, JD ’14, and Adam Pienciak, JD ’14, also represented at an OAH hearing a client accused of theft. The adverse decision is on appeal. n

types of unpaid wages and monies such as tips and reimbursable expenses unlaw-fully withheld. Three of these cases have resulted in favorable settlements, one still requiring court approval.

Two PJAC students, Kevin Miller, JD ’14, and Geoffrey Hainbach, JD ’14, conducted discovery in a clinic case seeking unpaid overtime wages for their client, a home health aide. In the fall semester, Mr. Miller deposed the CEO of the employer’s company and repre-sented his client at her deposition. In the spring semester, Mr. Hainbach and Mr. Miller filed a motion for partial summary judgment, making a novel argument that a particular District wage regulation was

Public Justice Advocacy Clinic

Students in the Public Justice Advocacy Clinic (PJAC), taught by Professor Jeffrey Gutman and

adjunct faculty member Paula Scott, engaged in civil litigation, primarily representing low-wage workers in employment-related cases. In one unusual matter, Matt Girgenti, JD ’14, and Kevin Miller, JD ’14, helped the family of an individual held captive in a foreign country to secure a conservatorship by which they could manage his financial accounts during the captivity.

In the spring 2014 semester, students represented parking lot attendants, construction workers, maids, warehouse workers, and other low wage workers, seeking unpaid wages from their employers. These students interviewed their clients, sent demand letters to employers, filed complaints, engaged in discovery and participated in settlement negotiations. Third-year students Abby Marciniak, James King, Benjamin Flick, Juan Garcia-Pardo, Joe Seaton, Matt Girgenti, Boris Kuperman, Hina Gupta, Orly May, and Rebecca Wernicke all sued employers in federal district court for failing to pay minimum wages and over-time in accordance with D.C. and federal law. Some of the cases also involved other

Professor Jeffrey Gutman (second from left) and clinic students Orly May and Joe Seaton meeting with a client (left).

Professor Jeffrey Gutman (seated) speaks with prospective clinic students.




number of issues including copyright law, trademark, and the appropriate choice of entity for the business.

Certified to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and receiving additional supervision from adjunct faculty member Kevin Peska, JD ’91, Managing Attorney in the USPTO’s Office of Trademark Quality Control, clinic students performed trade-mark analyses for both for-profit and nonprofit clients, examining the viability of the mark and counseling each client on the appropriateness of filing for trade-mark protection. In the spring semester, the clinic hosted a site visit from the USPTO. Students discussed their expe-riences participating in the USPTO Law

awareness to the natural hair movement, with drafting and filing its application for a 501(c) (3) federal tax exemption.

In keeping with the mission of assisting small businesses and promoting community economic development within the Washington, D.C. area, the SBCED Clinic assisted entrepreneurs returning to the community after a period of incarceration. The collateral consequences associated with returning citizen status provided an additional layer of complexity to the advice and counsel that the clinic students provided their clients. Derek Skinner, JD ’14, Nicholas Shepherd, JD ’14, and Audra Healey, JD ’15, assisted a returning citizen and artist with the establishment of a greeting card business, advising the client on a

Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic

The Small Business and Community Economic Development (SBCED) Clinic, taught by Professor

Susan Jones and Friedman Fellow Alice Hamilton Evert, has continued to provide start-up legal services to entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, social enter-prises, and artists in a broad range of business matters. In 2013–14, the SBCED Clinic had a diverse client docket, which included a culinary arts incubator, a student travel business, a microlender, a restaurant workers’ rights advocacy group, a greeting card designer, and a free school organization. Students assisted clients on a variety of transactional matters, including entity formation, federal tax exemption, and trademark protection. During the academic year, students also attended small business and community economic develop-ment events throughout the District, to develop understanding of the larger context within which the clinic operates.

In the fall semester, the SBCED Clinic class assisted a pair of former GW busi-ness school students and entrepreneurs in establishing a student travel busi-ness. Divided into teams, the students analyzed the appropriate choice of entity, the trademark issues associated with the business name and logo, and prepared a contract for the business to use with its customers. In the spring semester, the SBCED Clinic class worked in teams to assist a start-up, an international commu-nity lending venture, with a variety of complex issues, including the appropriate choice of entity both domestically and abroad, the securities laws that might apply to the organization’s work, conflict of interest matters, and trademark issues. Jacob Steele, JD ’14, and Derrick Rowe, JD ’14, successfully assisted a nonprofit client, an educational organization dedicated to supporting and bringing


Friedman Fellow Alice Hamilton Evert (r) addressing an SBCED Clinic class.

Adjunct faculty member Kevin Peska, Professor Susan Jones, and USPTO staff attorney Jennifer Harchick during a site visit.


School Clinic Certification Pilot program and the general trademark issues they had encountered. Co-hosted by the clinic and the Student Intellectual Property Law Association (SIPLA), and coordinated by SBCED Clinic student and SIPLA President, Krupa Parikh, JD ’14, the visit culminated in a presentation by a USPTO staff attorney.

In 2013–14, SBCED Clinic students also engaged in a variety of action research projects designed to address legal problems and/or contribute to law reform efforts. Students researched and drafted white papers on arts incuba-tors, workforce development programs,


in the military until he was injured. To prepare an extensive settlement demand, they researched legal issues related to military/VA offsets to damages. The team of Jared Stipelman, JD ’14, and Andrew Pinon, JD ’14, worked with internationally renowned immunol-ogist, Dr. Joseph Bellanti, Director of the International Center for the Interdisciplinary Studies of Immunology at Georgetown University, to develop a theory of causation in one of their cases, conducting both legal and medical research to prepare an expert report. n

issues of standing when their client had a conservator appointed. They also worked with a life care planner to prepare demands for extensive damages in the case. Alex Pesochin, JD ’14, and Joshua Little, JD ’15, represented their client in alternative dispute resolution proceed-ings with a federal special master acting as the mediator. They researched the impact of the Affordable Care Act on settlement negotiations.

Galina Gurok, JD ’14, and Bethany Gullman, JD ’14, worked with a client who had been serving on active duty

Vaccine Injury Clinic

In 2013–14, students in the Vaccine Injury Clinic, directed by Professor Peter Meyers, handled a variety of cases

seeking compensation from a federal compensation fund for people injured by vaccines. In the spring semester, adjunct faculty members Cliff Shoemaker and Renee Gentry assisted in teaching the clinic. Students in the Vaccine Injury Clinic litigate their cases against attor-neys from the U.S. Department of Justice.

This year the clinic settled a case on behalf of a young girl who began expe-riencing seizures and became severely developmentally delayed after receiving a vaccination when she was three years old. A series of clinic students, most recently Nesta Johnson, JD ’13, represented the client in proceedings that first established the vaccine as the cause of the seizures and developmental delays, and then secured a multi-million dollar settlement to ensure that the client receives the medical care, medications, and physical and other therapies that she will need for the rest of her life.

Michelle Riestra, JD ’15, and Rachael Million-Perez, JD ’15, represented their clients in status conferences before a federal special master, addressing

SBCED from page 17

Professor Peter Meyers

and the employment challenges facing returning citizens. A team of spring semester students also began work on a white paper about the history, purpose, benefits, and structure of D.C.’s Certified Business Enterprise program, identifying some possible areas for reform.

In the 2013–14 academic year, the SBCED Clinic teamed up with the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts (WALA), a D.C.-based nonprofit organi-zation that offers pro bono legal advice, services, and referrals to those working in the D.C. arts community, and the Intellectual Property Clinic at American

University Washington College of Law. Together they presented a “pop-up” clinic, a brief advice clinic in which students advised creative artists, nonprofit organi-zations, creative entrepreneurs, and others who needed access to high-quality legal services involving intellectual property and business law. This unique collabora-tion exposed students to a variety of legal issues and provided D.C. arts communities with pro bono legal services to support creative businesses. n


education had been conceived by GW Law alumnus William “Bill” Pincus, JD ’53 (see story on page 2), who in the 1960s began funding pilot clinical programs through his position as an executive at the Ford Foundation. Inspired by Bill’s vision, Professor Eric Sirulnik opened GW’s law clinics more than four decades ago, and alumnus Jacob Burns, LLB ’24, provided support that enabled the clinics to thrive. GW student Holly Faye Goldberg, Jacob Burns’ great-granddaughter, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Today the clinics offer a dozen programs in which students learn ethical judgment and transferable professional skills by assisting clients in need of legal services. Clinic students assist clients on legal matters involving health law, criminal law, community economic devel-opment, immigration law, international human rights, employment, housing, domestic violence, and other issues.

Commenting on the clinics’ mission of teaching through service, Justice Sotomayor stated: “The purpose every lawyer serves in whatever capacity is to help people with their problems and to try to better that client’s life situation. So long as we as lawyers act responsibly and with integrity, we serve the society in need.”

Observing that throughout their careers, lawyers are called upon to learn new things, Dean Goldfarb addressed the clinics’ educational mission: “One of the goals of clinics is to teach students the skills and habits and values of how to keep learning and growing as lawyers. Clinical methods designed to meet this goal allow students to carry their clinical education into practice with them.”

Connecting this clinical method to Justice Sotomayor’s visit, Dean Goldfarb remarked, “I can’t think of a more vibrant symbol of the clinical mission of lifelong learning as a part of professional life than Justice Sotomayor.” Dean Goldfarb indicated that Justice Sotomayor’s inspirational presence at the dedication of the clinics’ building would reinforce the commitment to education and service of “all who teach and learn and serve through law school clinics.” n

New Clinic Building from page 1

Top: Clinic students Kelly Rojas, Roberta O. Roberts, and Sonia Desai with Justice Sotomayor

Middle: President Steven Knapp, Kevin Fitzgerald, JD ‘91, Robert Tanenbaum, JD ‘82, Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, JD ‘83, Justice Sotomayor, Clinics Founding Director Eric Sirulnik, and Interim Dean Gregory Maggs

Bottom: Holly Faye Goldberg, great-granddaughter of Clinics benefactor Jacob Burns, with Justice Sotomayor

PERSPECTIVES

Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics2000 H Street N.W.Washington, D.C. 20052

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Documents

Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics Fall 2014 Newsletter